Local History

The Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath is the most atmospheric and historic place to swim in Birmingham and one of the finest Edwardian pools in the country.

Ian Dungavell

Ian Dungavell, Director of the Victorian Society visited the Grade II listed building and BBC WM reporter Jane France was there to speak to him.

Of the 50 historic listed baths in the country, 14 remain open and Ian is visiting them all to draw attention to their importance. In each he is swimming a length for every year the building has been open. He completed 101 lengths at Moseley Road, taking him around 50 minutes.

"Moseley Road Baths is the best of them all" said Ian, "it's the most fabulous pool in the country that you can still swim in."

Outside Moseley Road Baths

Second pool

One of the pools in the building is still very much in use, but the second, larger pool remains out of operation. It was closed in 2003 due to a leak and structural problems with the spectator's balcony and has remained out of action since then.

Campaigners are pushing for the second pool to be restored, but Birmingham City Council estimate a repair cost of £30million and say that it would cost too much. An alternative plan is to turn the rest of the building into a community centre, something Ian is unsure of:

"The best use of these building is for what they were originally designed... We need to preserve it as a community swimming venue for local people."

Inside Moseley Road Baths

Campaign

The Victorian Society aim to preserve buildings from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. And Ian is in no doubt that in Moseley Road Baths we've got one of the country's architectural gems:

"It's a fabulous building, there's beautiful tiles, beautiful stain glass decorations and it really shows how much Birmingham's council cared about local residents when they put this up."

The group Friends of Moseley Road Baths head a longstanding campaign to keep the pool open, organising regular gigs and events. Visit their MySpace page to find out more: